The present invention relates generally to transit mixers. More particularly, in one embodiment of the present invention, the transit mixer is of a front discharge type for mixing and transporting concrete to a job site.
Transit mixers are well known in the construction industry and generally consist of a mixing drum mounted on a vehicle for the mixing and delivery of a batch of concrete. Raw materials, such as cement, aggregate, and sand are loaded into the mixing drum at a batching plant. During the transportation of the materials to the job site, the mixing of the raw materials and/or concrete is continued until the product is discharged at the job location for finishing.
For many years, transit mixers were designed and constructed so that the loading and discharge was done from the rear of the transit mixer. Therefore, it was often necessary to back the large fully loaded vehicles into the job site in order to discharge a load of concrete to the proper place. Further, at many construction sites it was necessary to have an additional worker available to assist the driver in backing up the vehicle, and to prevent other parties at the job site from crossing the path of the vehicle as it was driven backwards. Rear discharge transit mixer designs have many inherent limitations that have a detrimental effect on the concrete producers.
In response to the needs of the growing construction industry, a front discharge transit mixer was developed. The front discharge transit mixer has overcome many of the limitations associated with rear discharge transit mixers. For example, in a rear discharge mixer, the vehicle must generally be backed into the discharge position at the job site; the job site often is in a restricted drive area and the ability to place the rear discharge mixer proximate pouring location is compounded by the operators impaired rearward vision. In contrast, the front discharge transit mixer apparatus permits a more rapid and exact approach, with an improved view of the raw material charging and concrete discharging location. The ability to more accurately position the front discharge mixer will allow for more accurate control over the discharge of the concrete to the job site, which in turn, will reduce the amount of labor required to finish the concrete.
While prior front discharge mixer apparatuses are steps in the right direction, there are still unmet needs in the transit mixer industry. The front discharge transit mixer of the present invention will address many of the unmet needs associated with prior front discharge transit mixers. The present invention satisfies these needs in a novel and unobvious way.